St. Leonards office building part of big Centuria REIT deal

Under a new deal by Centuria Metropolitan REIT, 50% of interest in a Sydney lower north shore building on 201 Pacific Highway, St. Leonards has been purchased for $86m. The other half of the interest has been bought over by Centuria Property Funds Limited.

Within the same deal, the REIT has also acquired an additional new building in Wollongong, making the total acquisition of the two office assets worth around $119.1m. Of this funding, $60m the funding will be raised via an entitlement offer.

Capital raising is offered at $2.39 per security, with UBA and Moelis joint managing the raising. The reactions from potential investors are said to be positive.

According to Nicholas Blake, manager of the REIT, The group is keeping their eye on areas around Sydney, Canberra and Newcastle, as these locations are showing an increasing demand of office spaces. He added that the newly acquired St. Leonards and Wollongong buildings have good potential as office assets as rent is rising. Moreover, due to the proximity to the Royal North Shore hospital, St. Leonards is transforming into a healthcare hub, where there is growing demand in leasing spaces for bio-medical related business.

Fund managers have to keep a sharp eye on the volatile property market, as well as attending professional networking events where they often share their business cards with new acquaintances to create future opportunities.